“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is onstage at ACT (A Contemporary Theatre) of Connecticut, in Ridgefield, May 30 through June 23. From left are Colin Miyamoto, Sumi Yu, Graham Baker, Morgan

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is onstage at ACT (A Contemporary Theatre) of Connecticut, in Ridgefield, May 30 through June 23. From left are Colin Miyamoto, Sumi Yu, Graham Baker, Morgan

Michelle Tattenbaum vividly recalls the first time she saw “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” It was during the musical comedy’s Off-Broadway run at Second Stage Theater.

“I had been a really big fan of Bill Finn’s work since I was a teenager, so when it came I made sure to see it as soon as I possibly could. I remember absolutely loving it, and thinking it was so hilarious, touching and surprising — different from anything I had ever seen before,” she said of the show, with music and lyrics by William Finn, and book by Rachel Sheinkin.

The story centers around a spelling bee where six quirky, over-achieving tweens are competing in a tournament run by three equally-quirky grown-ups. As they navigate the pressures they’re under, they all find a new sense of belonging and learn there’s much more to life than winning a trophy in middle school.

Tattenbaum laughed when asked about her reasons for taking on this project in Ridgefield. “Every show I have ever seen that I love, I want to direct — so there’s that,” she said. Also, she loves that it’s a story “that speaks to us in our world today.”

The Yale theater studies grad, who recently directed “Urinetown” in Denmark, put it like this: “It’s about people who are very different from one another and feel a great sense of competition, and who still find a way to come together with one another. That’s a powerful message.”

Some audience participation is part of this show, so you may want to brush up on your spelling! Also, each character has “a sort of feature moment where they need to reflect on something very human in each of us.” Tattenbaum said there are two (Marcy and Logainne) who put a lot of pressure on themselves. “If I had to pick two I identify with most, it would be those two. But I see a piece of myself in all of them.”

Aside from its humanity and humor, Tattenbaum said the musical resonates with audiences because many people have been in spelling bees. “While I never did that, I can’t tell you the number of people I have met who have a spelling bee story that is deeply embedded in their soul. They tell me the word they missed and why they missed it. The energy that comes out of them; it’s like this window into some secret part of their soul.”

Even if you’ve never competed in a spelling bee, “I think we can all relate to the idea of something we were intensely invested in at a time in our lives, and how it shaped us,” she said.